gcode to mk3s over usb silliness.
I just finished my first benchy on my just completed 3s kit.
I used the file on the sd card plugged into the printer.
I flashed the printer firmware from my computer using slic3r over the usb cable.
do I actually NEED to wait for the sd card reader I ordered for my computer so I can use it to load the gcodes I generate in slic3r onto a sd card that I then have to plug into the printer to print anything/everything ?
I cannot use the usb to load files directly to the printer from slic3r at all ???
is sneakernetting my only option ?
am I being silly in expecting a way for my computer to talk directly to the printer, or
am I being silly in not seeing the obvious way that is right in front of me ?
I do not do wifi so adding a rasberry pi and octoprint lacks appeal as strongly as does sneakernetting.
RE: gcode to mk3s over usb silliness.
"am I being silly in expecting a way for my computer to talk directly to the printer..."
Pronterface will do that but of course you must leave it running throughout the print. A more flexible way to achieve this is to use a Raspberry Pi as a intermediary, PC send whole GCode file to Pi, then Pi trickle feeds GCode to printer.
RE: gcode to mk3s over usb silliness.
As Towlerg mentions a raspi running octoprint is one option. Another is to use a flash air sd card, which is a network enabled sd card that you can drag files over on the network and then print from the menu as normal.
You can print via usb from a pc but the problem is that ANY interruption to the usb will reset the printer, losing the print (no resume possible). With full computers you never know id]f there’s going to be updates, and the usb serial doesn’t have a high priority.
Octoprint gives more options like monitoring etc but if not setup properly or the wrong add ins can also cause print issues.
RE: gcode to mk3s over usb silliness.
You don't need to "do wi-fi" to use a Raspberry Pi / Octoprint setup. Using a Pi 3 ( or newer) you connect the Pi to your Lan using an ethernet cable and set up Slicer to send the gcode direct to Octoprint.
RE: gcode to mk3s over usb silliness.
You don't need to "do wi-fi" to use a Raspberry Pi / Octoprint setup. Using a Pi 3 ( or newer) you connect the Pi to your Lan using an ethernet cable and set up Slicer to send the gcode direct to Octoprint.
I understand the inadvisability of having the Gcode streaming from non local memory for active printing, so loading it to the wifi enabled SD card would be viable, if I did wifi.
a Pi4, ethernet, with a hefty SD card for storage fully qualifies.
I was sorta hoping for there to be a simple way to use the existing hardware and usb hookup ON MY BRAND NEW STATE OF THE ART 2020 PRINTER, that even comes supplied with a USB cable and SD card.
I understand that the einsy board is less than cutting edge, but gee whiz. all the bits, and wires connecting them, are there.
if there was even a paltry transfer rate measured in Kbs my sparkly printer would be PRINTING right now, instead of silently pinning me to my chair with an astonishingly wistful glare.
please, Joe, for the i3 MK3TI upgrade to 64 bit board, please enable hardware file transfer to onboard memory.
for sure require all printing be done from onboard memory only, but a type C usb hookup to the computer with Slic3r would be mammalian protuberances.
RE: gcode to mk3s over usb silliness.
@phillipl652a
"I was sorta hoping for there to be a simple way to use the existing hardware and usb hookup ON MY BRAND NEW STATE OF THE ART 2020 PRINTER, that even comes supplied with a USB cable and SD card." There is, Prontaface.
RE: gcode to mk3s over usb silliness.
I have three printers set up with Toshoba FlashAir (Wi-Fi) and that is very simple to use. Each printer has a network share that can be used to upload gcode filtes to, even when printing.
PrusaSlicer supports FlashAir and gcode can be uploaded directly from the slicer.
As they function the same way as SD cards there is no delay when reading gcode and they can survive a power out and resumes printing when power is back again.
Have a look at my models on Printables.com 😉
RE: gcode to mk3s over usb silliness.
@phillipl652a
I was sorta hoping for there to be a simple way to use the existing hardware and usb hookup ON MY BRAND NEW STATE OF THE ART 2020 PRINTER, that even comes supplied with a USB cable and SD card.
Except the Prusa i3 was announced in 2012 ... and was publicly designed; not exactly a feat of engineering expertise. Were are at revision 3.1 of that printer right now.
RE: gcode to mk3s over usb silliness.
@phillipl652a
Prontaface.
acting on the assumption of your competance I installed Pronterface.
a Gcode produced by Prusa Slicer and saved to the desktop, right click, open with - Pronterface.
click on Connect, it takes a minute to do all the stuff.
click on SD, choose SD Upload.
it suggests a 8.3 filename.
so far it looks like it will overwrite whatever file with the same name is currently on the SD card.
it takes my setup about 1 minute per 100 Kb of file size.
I have now successfully printed a part from the internet without having to swap the SD card around.
thank you for your competent guidance.